No Revenge Is As Complete As Forgiveness
by mayaslash
Summary: Naruto has become a Hokage and Sasuke and Itachi have returned to Konoha. The brothers are forced to face their past and search for the peace that has eluded them for so long. Uchihacest
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I started writing this fic months ago, when canon!Sasuke hadn't gone all loony, so in this fic he's sort of normal. As normal as he can be, under the circumstances. As it is, I finally decided to start posting it here on and I hope you like it.

**NO REVENGE IS AS COMPLETE AS FORGIVENESS**

**Prologue**

Sasuke sat quietly in a very hard, very uncomfortable chair before the Hokage's desk and was staring firmly at a spot somewhere slightly above and to the right of Naruto's face, but still close enough to give the pretense that he was actually looking at him. His onetime friend – now superior, captor, jailor – stared back at him, his blue eyes hooded and troubled. Slowly, Naruto's gaze moved to the person sitting behind Sasuke, eyes darkening even further before looking back at him.

"The Council and some of the clan leaders would have me kill you both." He said seriously.

Sasuke wasn't afraid to die. He had let go of that fear many years ago, so Naruto's words didn't worry him particularly. What made him bristle was that his fate would be decided by people whose pasts weren't any more virtuous than his own. So he remained silent, but lifted his chin defiantly – he wasn't going to cower, whatever the sentence.

"I am, however" Naruto continued "the Hokage. And you also have to thank Kakashi's influence and support, because the two of us managed to, after all, gain the upper hand in the argument about both your fates." He once again looked at the person sitting behind Sasuke.

"I won't execute you, and I won't send you in jail – at least, not in an actual jail. You will, however, be required to be tattooed with a seal that will monitor your whereabouts at all time, and you will remain in Konoha, permanently. Under no circumstances are you to leave the village, unless we're having a general evacuation of the whole populace. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Sasuke answered.

"And you?" Naruto looked at the man behind him again.

"Yes." Answered a soft, velvety voice.

"Good. Now, there's one other condition, and I am afraid that the Council and the clan Leaders were adamant about it – you both are obligated to return to the Uchiha compound. They don't want you living on the actual Konoha premises."

"They want us to return there?" there was alarm in the voice of the man behind him.

"Yes. There was nothing I could do. As far as I know, other than being very dirty, the compound is the same as when Sasuke moved out of there – nothing has been looted because people don't want to go in what they believe is a haunted place."

Sasuke's fingers clutched at the wooden armrests of his chair. Naruto couldn't make him go back to that place! He didn't want to go back, didn't want to come face to face with all the memories and nightmares those empty, bloodied streets provoked. Apparently his feelings were written all over his face because Naruto said:

"I truly am sorry, Sasuke. There was nothing more that I could do for either of you – you and Itachi are to remain to live in your old home – this is the only way I can actually keep out of jail, or worse, the executioner's block."

**CHAPTER 1**

After Naruto informed them of his decision they remained in his office for an hour while they waited for Kakashi arrive and for Naruto to put the surveillance seals on them personally. 'If I put them I'd be sure that nothing else is added to them.' The Hokage had said apologetically.

Finally, Kakashi arrived. The Jounin was the same as Sasuke remembered him – masked, not very tall, well-fit, with a shock of pale hair above his forehead protector. The only difference seemed to be the little crow's feet that had begun to appear at the corner of his one visible eye.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed when he entered.

"Ah, here you are. Please, escort them to the Uchiha compound, Kakashi-san." Sasuke noticed that Naruto had dropped the "sensei" honorific. 'He needs to assert authority, especially considering the difference in age.' The younger Uchiha thought. Kakashi nodded and reached towards Itachi, who carefully got up from his chair and remained in his place until the Jounin got a good grip on his elbow.

For the first time since they got into the office, Sasuke allowed himself to look at his older brother – he too was so similar to what he remembered and yet so different – short, slender, with long, silken raven hair, heart-shaped face and cupid-bow lips. Gone was the arrogance, the cold, unflinching presence that dominated the entire room when Itachi entered. His eyes, once coal-black when calm, blood-red when he used the Sharingan, were now milky-white and unseeing. Sasuke felt a sick sort of satisfaction at the knowledge that the very weapon Itachi had used to hurt him so many times was now taken from him forever. That satisfaction, and the memory of the torture the older Uchiha put him through, were useful when he repressed the other feelings that twisted in his gut when he looked at his brother. After all these years of suffering, of obsessively chasing after him, he couldn't shake off the maddening need for Itachi to be pleased with his achievements, to make him proud.

At the moment, though, Itachi stood pliant in Kakashi's grip, waiting obediently to be led through the maze of corridors, stairs and elevators that filled the new Hokage tower.

"Do you have any luggage, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

The young man pointed to a relatively small duffle bag.

"Only this."

"And Itachi?"

"He hasn't brought anything." Sasuke answered. Kakashi nodded and gently tugged the elder Uchiha.

"Let's go then."

After they left the office, Sasuke turned to Kakashi:

"I can find the compound on my own."

"I am sure you can, even with the new street plan, but these are the Hokage's orders."

Sasuke looked ready to argue, but Kakashi insisted:

"You are tired, hungry and Itachi here wouldn't be able to assist you in a fight. Believe me when I say that Konoha is full of people who want nothing more than to skin you alive and hang your hides out to dry. My presence would keep them at bay, at least for now. It'd be better if the two of you remain at the compound, at least for a little while – I'll bring you food and whatever you need every few days, at least until the general populace gets used to the idea of your presence."

"I am not afraid of anyone!"

"Please, Sasuke." Kakashi said softly. "Naruto took such a huge risk to allow you to remain free and unharmed, don't put him in a situation where he'd have to explain why the people he vouched for start street fights."

Sasuke glared at his former teacher, but finally conceded. Kakashi actually looked relieved.

"Thank you. Shall we go now?"

Once they left the Hokage tower, Sasuke saw that the sun had already set – a soft, pinkish glow quickly turning to violet twilight illuminated the street, the pedestrians looking eager to go home – to rest after a hard day's work, to have dinner, shower, to be with their families… Sasuke looked away.

Kakashi led them down the paved street, his hand firmly holding Itachi's elbow and from time to time warning him about steps and obstacles, waiting for the younger man to sidestep them. People didn't pay much attention to them, not in the growing darkness, other than the strange looks they got from time to time, the lone stranger noticing just who they were. Sasuke knew that by tomorrow at that time the whole village would know that they had returned and that the rumour mill would go into overdrive. He just hoped, despite the bravado he had demonstrated before Naruto and Kakashi, that there wouldn't be any lynching mob gathering before the compound.

"Why did you do it?" he asked quietly.

"What did I do what, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked.

"Why did you defend us before the Council and the elders?"

"I had a friend, long time ago, who taught me to believe in second chances, among other things."

"I should thank this friend of yours then." Sasuke muttered.

"He was an Uchiha."

From the corner of his eye Sasuke noticed Itachi stiffening in Kakashi's grip and the Jounin hurriedly added:

"He died before either of you were even born."

"Oh." Itachi intoned softly.

Sasuke gave them both a thin smile.

They finally reached at the walls of the Uchiha district and approached the gates. The Uchiha symbol – a fan – painted on them was dirty, faded and cracked, not having been maintained for many years.

"It's a miracle that this part of the town didn't suffer any damage, other than a little random debree, when Pein attacked Konoha. Everything else was flattened. Complete devastation."

Itachi once again tensed in Kakashi's arms but said nothing. Kakashi let go of his arm and walked up to the gates, unlocking them by performing a complex series of seals.

"You can go in now." He said after neither Sasuke nor Itachi moved towards the open gates.

"Are we required to move in a certain house?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"No. You can sleep wherever you wish, as long as you remain in the district. And as I said, you're not forbidden to roam Konoha, I just don't recommend it." He took out a small scroll and handed it to Sasuke "Sealed food and some clothes for the both of you."

Sasuke nodded, then walked up towards Itachi, gripping his forearm much more harshly than Kakashi had and tugging him forward.

"Let's go."

His brother stumbled gracelessly for a moment before regaining his footing. Kakashi looked like he was about to say something, but he remained silent as Sasuke dragged his older brother inside, Itachi following him silently and without protest. The heavy doors slowly closed after them with a screech and a thud and finally they were alone.

Sasuke hadn't been alone with his brother ever since that fated duel between them, over a year before, a duel which neither of them had really won, and which they had both lost. So many things had happened since that day, so many lives had been lost.

There were moments when he wished that Madara, that bastard, hadn't told him the truth about Itachi's motives for killing their Clan. Things would've been so much easier – he would've gone on hating Itachi, and he would've killed him the moment he found out he was alive, there, in that healing ward in Amegakure – blind, defenseless, almost helpless. He hadn't been able to bring himself to do it, not with what he knew, and he couldn't do it now either. It didn't mean though, that he had forgiven him. The rage, the hate still simmered within him, always at the back of his mind, coming to the fore when he looked at him, now mixed with bitter betrayal. Itachi had lied to him, manipulated him, used him, hurt him… all out for some misguided goal to protect him. More often than not Sasuke asked himself if it had been worth it.

The night was quickly setting in, the first stars twinkling brightly above them, the full moon rising, tinged with red. The Uchiha district was as quiet as a tomb, the dusty streets glowing in the soft silvery light.

Sasuke turned to his brother to look at him and found him standing in the same place by the now closed gates, his arms wrapped protectively around his middle.

"Seems like we're back we started." Sasuke noted coldly. Itachi didn't respond. His silence infuriated Sasuke. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked sharply.

"Would it matter, if I say anything?" Itachi finally spoke quietly.

"No. Not really. I am not sure I can bear to listen to your voice as it is."

He reached and grabbed him roughly again, pulling him forward and dragging him down the street. Itachi almost fell over after he tripped but Sasuke pulled him up and kept dragging him.

"Where are we going?"

"I have no intention of sharing a house with you. We'll live separately. And I think I know just the right place for you." Sasuke responded. Finally, they reached a house that was painfully familiar – a large, wooden traditional home, hidden in the vegetation of an overgrown garden, its windows dark and gaping as hungry maws.

Sasuke paused before the closed door, feeling once again like a frightened seven year old about to discover that monsters were real. Only the monster was with him, outside of the house, not inside laying in wait.

He gripped the handle of the door and pushed it open, the moonlight illuminating a large, spacious room, the floor and sparse furniture covered with a thick layer of dust. Itachi must've recognized the sound of the doors because he was once again stiff in Sasuke's grip, trying to pull away.

"Sasuke." His voice sounded pleading. Good. Let him know what it was like. "Sasuke, please. I can't stay here." He tried to tug himself free again, but his body was too weak to struggle against Sasuke's superior strength.

The younger Uchiha turned and grabbed him with both hands and shook him roughly.

"I think that we established already that you will do whatever I say. I may not be able to bring myself to kill you, Itachi, but I haven't forgiven you either." His voice was low and angry. Itachi stopped struggling.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why can't you kill me?"

Sasuke's grip slackened a little.

"Because, Itachi, you want to die. And you want me to help you die. All my life, you have manipulated me, all my life I have, whether I realized it or not, done as you have wanted me to do. I am tired of dancing to your fiddle, brother. For once, you will do as I want. And I want you to stay in this house, among these walls, where you spilled the blood of our parents."

Itachi quieted down.

"This is a punishment then."

"Maybe. I don't know what it is. I know that I cannot… I cannot forgive you, and I know that you want me to." He reached and pushed away the bangs of soft raven hair that had fallen across Itachi's face. "Do you want me to forgive you, Itachi?"

"I am beyond forgiveness." Itachi's voice sounded hoarse and fragile at the same time.

"I am not asking you whether you can be forgiven, I am asking you whether you want me to forgive you." He shook him again. "Tell me!"

A small, animalistic sound escaped Itachi's lips.

"Yes."

"Then you will stay here. You will face what you have done… as I will try to face my own crimes. But I cannot bear you to be anywhere near me. Not now. Maybe not for a long time."

Finally, Itachi nodded. Sasuke let go of him.

"I'll come by later to bring you food."

He took a step back and watched as Itachi slowly turned and timidly stepped into the room, his feet leaving deep tracks into the dust, revealing old, rusty bloodstains. Father's blood, mother's blood. Making Itachi stay here sounded more like justice to him, rather than the manic, blood-thirsty need for revenge. Death would be a relief for his brother and he had no intention of helping him escape from his guilt.

'Yes, but this is your crime too, isn't it? All he did, he did it for you. Your hands too are soaked in their blood. So why don't you stay with him here?'

Sasuke turned sharply on his heel and left. 'Because if I do I'd be too tempted to take him out of this his house and bring him to a place where he wouldn't suffer like that." He answered bitterly. 


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Sasuke himself settled in one of the adjacent homes, not too far away from the place where he left Itachi. The house had once belonged to a distant uncle and aunt of his, an elderly pair he had barely known, so very few of his memories were connected to his place. It was nowhere as large as his parents' home, though it possessed the same type of an overgrown garden, the plants practically bursting into the house through the shattered windows. It would take a lot of work to clean this place up.

Shrugging, he dumped his bag on the front porch and took out one of the Kunai that Naruto had allowed him to keep, then proceeded to cut the vines and other vegetation that had crawled over the boards. He took a tentative look inside the house and saw that it was as rundown as the rest of the compound – covered in dust and cobwebs. Sleeping in it tonight wouldn't be too pleasant, so he resigned himself to sleep on the cleaned spot on the porch. He took out a thin blanket from the bag and unrolled it on the scratched wood, then curled up on top of it, grateful for the warm weather – just because he was a ninja and could put up with almost any sleeping conditions didn't mean that he enjoyed it when his teeth chattered while sleeping. He knew that he should've unsealed the food and left some of it for Itachi, but at the time he had been too angry to bother.

The wood under his shoulder was hard and unyielding and the lack of a pillow made things even more uncomfortable, so he turned on his back and stared up at the sky – velvet black, with jewel stars twinkling down at him, the full moon shining brightly through the thick foliage of the overgrown vegetation. Because the area wasn't inhabited – other than his brother and himself, that is – the air was clean of smoke and the smell of cooking foods. All he could feel was the lingering smell of dust that came from the house, mixed with the heavy fragrance of the blooming flowers. An owl cried somewhere in the night and Sasuke's eyes slowly closed.

After seeing off the two Uchihas, Kakashi returned to the Hokage tower, knowing that Naruto would still be up and dealing with reports and other paperwork – he delegated as little as possible to his assistants, paranoid about which one of them were agents of the Council. Now that Danzo was out of the picture, only they and some of the Clan Leaders remained an obstacle for the reforms Naruto wished to introduce. Not delegating work, however, meant that he often stayed up very late.

Kakashi knocked on the door and heard Naruto's muffled voice coming from the inside:

"Come in."

The Jounin walked in and saw what he knew he would see – the blonde man sitting behind his desk, a single lamp illuminating his workspace in with bright yellowish glow. He held a letter with familiar handwriting in his hands.

"Is that a letter from Pein?" Kakashi asked.

"He's decided to call himself Nagato again." Naruto muttered. "And yes, it's a letter from him. He wants to know if Itachi and Sasuke are safe and sound." A crooked smile appeared on his face. "That man never seizes to amaze me – he's capable of such overwhelming violence and yet so very protective of those he considers his underlings."

"Aren't you the same?" Kakashi asked with a small smile as he settled down on a chair next to Naruto to read the letter over his shoulder. Naruto snorted.

"I don't attack villages on a mass scale." He paused while reading the rest of the letter:

"And he's agreed to pay for some of the property damage he caused a year ago. A gesture of good will, he calls it."

"How did you manage to convince him too cooperate so much?"

"I didn't. He did it on his own. I think he truly believed me, when I said that I would make his, our, dream come true."

Kakashi leaned back on his chair and thought about the red-headed former Leader of Akatsuki and current leader of Amegakure no Sato. While that village remained largely closed off and isolated from the rest of the world, it had gradually began to open up, ever since Naruto finally deposed Danzo and assumed the Hokage role. Things were far from perfect for everyone – Danzo was still at large, as was Madara, both fleeing from combined wrath of the Hidden Villages, once their machinations were brought out into the open. Only Naruto's growing influence had saved Ame from a direct attack which would've undoubtedly turned into a massacre. Pein, no, Nagato, had understood that and it had been the main reason why he had agreed to begin peace talks with Naruto.

That had been the reason why the two Uchihas had been returned – despite his influence, Naruto didn't have complete sway over the Clan Heads or the Council yet, and they had set the condition for their return before they agreed on a dialog with Ame. Pressed between the need to protect his Akatsuki subordinates and the lives of his entire people, Nagato had eventually caved and sent the brothers back to Konoha.

"So what do I write back, Kakashi? How are Sasuke and Itachi? I saw that they didn't settle in the same house."

Kakashi, who too was connected to the surveillance seals on the Uchihas, nodded.

"Sasuke seemed calm when I left them, but it could've been a façade. You know how secretive he can be when he wants, and I am sure that he's nowhere near forgiving his brother."

Naruto nodded sadly.

"I'd imagine so." He looked down at the letter again. "You know, once I told Itachi that I was a better brother to Sasuke than he could ever dream to be."

"Oh? What did Itachi answer?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing. He just smiled."

"I see."

"It must've been a terrible choice to make." Naruto muttered.

The choice had shattered whatever sense of self he had possessed, so many years ago.

Unable to sleep in that wretched place filled with ghosts, Itachi couldn't help but remember. Sitting in the same spot he now sat, Sasuke next to him, telling him that no matter what, he would always remain his big brother. How he had wished to just take the small boy in his arms and flee, run away from Konoha, from his father, from their clan, from all those who put him in this impossible position. It was an empty fantasy though. No matter how good and powerful he was, he was still barely in his teens, he didn't have the stamina to flee for a long time while carrying Sasuke. He would be captured in less than a week. In the end, he stayed, and he had carried out the deed, knowing that if it wasn't him, it would be ANBU, and they wouldn't give his family quick and clean death. He knew what ANBU and that horrible man, Danzo, would do to them before they killed them. At least, this way he could make sure that they died as quickly and painlessly as possible, and most of all, he could make sure that Sasuke survived. Survived, and lived, and became a powerful nin on his own terms… It had been his dream, the one dream he allowed himself to have, after he became a kinslayer, for Sasuke to bring justice to him. To die at his beloved brother's hands had been a sweet, beloved dream but like everything else, it became twisted beyond recognition. That, it seemed, was always the fate of all that Itachi touched.

He sighed and buried his face in his folded knees, trying to shut out the outside world. He knew that it must be a beautiful night, with the air so warm, the crickets chirping, the scent of the blooming wysterias so thick that it was intoxicating. The moon probably shined brightly above him. He wished he could see it, the silver-coated ghost of a house, the empty streets, the blood-stained floor in the back room. Perhaps that was sheer masochism, but he did want to see it. He couldn't do that now, not anymore, his body, so broken after the fight with Sasuke, had become his prison. He wasn't even sure how he managed to move from the room where Sasuke left him, THAT room, to the porch outside, without actually tripping on anything and falling over.

It was early morning when he finally fell in a nightmare-filled sleep, too exhausted to stay awake anymore.

Sasuke woke up early in the morning, his back sore from sleeping on the hard wood of the porch. He opened his bleary eyes and blinked a few times before becoming completely awake, the events from last night returning to his memory. He ran his hands over his face and got to his feet – best to face whatever new challenges the day presented him, rather than try to delay them. There was no point in procrastinating.

The well was in the same spot where he remembered it, though now the neat stone path leading to it was long hidden under the thick blanket of weeds. After tripping a few times on vines he managed to get to it and wash himself, then returned to the porch. In the weak morning light he saw that the house wasn't in such a bad condition as he had feared last night – yes, it was quite dirty, and there were spider-webs all over the place, a few windows were broken, but other than that, it seemed pretty decent. He walked from room to room, inspecting the damage and filing the information in his head until he reached the dining room and stared at the arrangement. The low traditional table was still covered with a pale cloth, several plates and cups still standing, neatly arranged under the thick dust and cobwebs, the shriveled and dried up remains of food still in them. A porcelain cup had rolled on the floor where someone had dropped it, the stain from the spilled liquid still visible under the dust. His uncle and aunt must've been having dinner when Itachi attacked.

The sight of the room was like a snapshot of that night, a little piece of history that had survived intact, preserved and untouched for so many years, so that the lone survivor of that massacre – save the perpetrators, of course – could find it now, as sullied as it had been the night when the owners of the nice little dining room were slain.

Sasuke swallowed and balled his fists as he stood by the door and looked into the room, then slowly lifted his foot and entered. It became easier, after that first step, to approach the table, to grab it and lift, turn it over and throw everything back on the ground, the delicate porcelain crashing on the floor and shattering into hundreds of glittering pieces. He hid them when he threw the table cloth over the whole mess.

Panting, Sasuke turned around and left the room, ridiculously pleased that he had destroyed the little memento of THAT night.

He went back to the front porch, breathing heavily, trying to get his frayed nerves under control. He had thought, for a moment, that perhaps living here wouldn't be that terrible. That he could cope, somehow, with the memories, with the gaping emptiness of the whole place, now inhabited by two living ghosts. Because that's what he and Itachi were, after all, weren't they? The last remnants of a cursed clan, both of them stained with blood and betrayal.

He stood there for a while, slowly regaining his composure and his determination to pass through this test as well. Uchiha Sasuke had been many things in his life – a student, a Ninja, a protégé of a sick old man, a rebel, a traitor. But most of all, he was a survivor. He was going to survive now too, if only to spite Itachi.

His brother immediately appeared in his mind's eye, just as he had left him at their parents' house the previous night – thin and pale wraith of a man, his long raven hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. The thought of his brother brought many conflicting emotions in him, especially now that he knew the truth. There was the old anger, and hate, and bitterness, but they were mixed with the same desire to please him, to make him proud, as well as a completely new feeling – to take care of him, now that he could no longer take care of himself. The last emotion filled him with self-loathing – how could he want to take care of someone who had committed such a terrible crime? Who had used his power, over and over again, to violate his mind, to manipulate him and shape him into whatever he wished? But he had done it for what he believed was his own good, hadn't he? He had done it because he knew of the enemies Sasuke had, because he never seized to be the brother who soothed his fears when they sat on the porch, that warm summer afternoon all those years ago.

'_No matter what, I'll always be your brother…'_

Sasuke growled and stomped to his bag, taking out the scroll where Kakashi said he had sealed the food. His own stomach was growling already and he quickly unsealed it, discovering that Kakashi had left him with several large bags of rice, jars with pickled vegetables and some dried fish. With a sigh he went back inside and found the kitchen, then rummaged through his aunt's cupboards until he found a suitable pot and some spices so he could actually boil the rice. There was no electricity, so he had to clean a spot in the yard from all the vegetation and improvise a hearth in order to cook. Once it was done, he put some of the rice in a pair of bowls, stuck several pieces of dried fish in them and paused. Did he just cook for Itachi? He glowered at the bowls. Then again, he couldn't expect his brother to actually be able to cook for himself in that house, to find firewood, to cut it, to clean a spot for a hearth… let alone start a safe fire. Sasuke bit his lip angrily, put out the fire then sighed and grabbed the bowls. Now that he had decided not to kill Itachi, he couldn't just starve him to death.

'I'll just bring it to him. It wouldn't be like accepting him under my roof.' He reasoned to himself and with final growl, headed for his parents' house.

In the bright daylight, it didn't appear that creepy – actually, all the flowers made it look almost homely. He went down the garden pathway – which, being much wider than his uncle's, wasn't completely taken over by the weeds and he could actually walk up to the house with ease.

He found Itachi on the porch where the two of them had sat so long ago, attempting to clean most of the random junk, dead leaves and still living vines cluttering it. He was crouched low, his nimble fingers working meticulously and with surprising precision, considering his handicap.

Itachi heard his footsteps and paused, lifting his face even if he couldn't see him. Sasuke heard him sniffing the air, undoubtedly smelling the freshly cooked meal. He walked up to him and set the bowl harshly on the floorboards before him, then stuck the pair of chopsticks in the rice – a gesture which would be considered rather rude in a well-mannered company, but at the moment the conditions didn't allow for very good manners.

"I brought you food." Sasuke said.

Itachi tentatively reached towards the bowl and searched for it in vain for a few moments until Sasuke grabbed his wrist and put his hand on the side of the bowl.

"Thank you." Itachi said quietly.

"Just don't get any ideas. You're not welcome in my home."

"Where would that home be, Sasuke?" Itachi asked mildly.

"Why, you planning to come and kill me in my sleep?" Sasuke griped and Itachi turned his face down again.

"I could never kill you." He whispered.

"No, you just make sure that I wish was dead." Sasuke answered harshly and stomped away. However, as he got out of the house he paused, turned and went around the building, quietly sneaking around so he could see what Itachi was doing, knowing that with his damaged Chakra system, his brother could no longer sense his presence.

Itachi was sitting among the dried leaves and eating ravenously, sticking as much food in his mouth as he could and licking his fingers from time to time. It was a childish gesture and it made him look so innocent, and pure, as if nothing of the past 11 years had come to pass.

Sasuke's stomach growled loudly and he turned away, unwilling to think about the scene and eager to go back to his own meal.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

For the next several days, things didn't change much. Sasuke began cleaning up the house he had chosen to inhabit, first cutting away all the vegetation that had blocked the path that led towards the front door, then slowly beginning to clean all rooms and to throw out the junk he didn't need. There were a lot of things there, gathered by his aunt's family for years, and a lot of it must've had a sentimental value – clothes, books, pictures, all sorts of pottery and utensils – things Sasuke didn't need and couldn't bear to have at the house with him. Some of it he threw out, some of the more personal things he moved to an adjacent house and left them in its living room, turning it into sort of a storage.

He spent almost two days going through the family's photo-albums, sitting cross-legged on the floor and leafing through the thick, dusty pages, alternating between smiling and crying as he watched the faces of his long-dead clan staring back at him from the little mementoes – young and happy and so full of life. He burned all the pictures once he went through them. He didn't need them, didn't want them, and their mere existence caused him pain.

Next came the dust that permeated everything, having gathered even in the smallest nook and cranny. Sasuke cleaned it, as best as he could, opening all windows and airing the rooms.

In the mean time, he kept cooking for both himself and Itachi and carried those meals over to their parents' house. He discovered that his brother was engaged in the same sort of activity as him, albeit doing it a lot slower. From what Sasuke noticed, his brother was trying to clean only one room, leaving the rest of the house intact. The younger Uchiha didn't even see footsteps in the dust that covered the rest of the rooms, which meant that Itachi hadn't even bothered going in them.

On the fifth day in the early morning when he carried breakfast to his brother he noticed a bruise on his face and when he looked down, he saw that the palms of his hands were scraped. Had he fallen somewhere? He must've. He didn't want to care about that, not at all. Itachi got what he deserved.

However, the memory of Itachi handling the bowl of rice with utmost care, apparently sore, haunted Sasuke for the rest of the day and in the evening, along with the dinner he brought some of the anticeptic cream and gauze he kept in his bag for such small scrapes and wounds.

He found Itachi back on the back porch, the significant part of it clean of dust and vegetation. His brother was sitting on it and leaning on one of the supporting wooden columns, his hands demurely resting on his lap. He didn't move when he heard Sasuke's footsteps, nor when the younger Uchiha placed the bowl of rice on the floor next to him and sat down.

"Give me your hands." Sasuke said.

Itachi slowly turned.

"What for?"

"Because those scrapes need to be cleaned. I can't have them getting infected."

Itachi didn't move.

"Why? Why do you care?" he asked, voice strangely apathetic.

"I don't care about you, Itachi." Sasuke answered, stressing on "you". "It's just that if they get infected, I would have to waste my time and energy and take care of you until you get well, and I have no desire to do that. So give me your hands."

Itachi gave him a small, cryptic smile.

"You could just leave things as they are." He pointed out.

Sasuke growled.

"I think we already established that I won't let you die, Itachi. So just give me your hands and quit arguing."

Finally Itachi conceded and reached forward, his palms up. Sasuke took a look at the scrapes and winced – it was worse than he initially thought – there was sand and little rocks imbedded in the flesh that would need to be cleaned.

"How did this happen?" he asked unkindly.

"I tripped while taking out some trash." Itachi explained. "On a vine."

Sasuke said nothing else but took the small wet towel he brought with himself and began to clean the wounds. He wasn't careful and scrubbed harder than he had to, until he noticed Itachi silently wincing. Despite himself, he softened his touch and stopped pressing the towel so much. Once he was satisfied, he squeezed a dollop of the antiseptic cream on his fingers and began to spread it on the wounds, his movements slow and surprisingly gentle. When he was done, he wrapped the gauze around his hands and secured it with pins.

"There. Done." He announced. Itachi pulled his hands away and searched for the bowl of food. "Thank you." He said.

Sasuke gave an unhappy snort.

"As I said, I didn't do it for your sake."

Itachi began to eat, a little clumsy because of the bandages.

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

"May I come over to your place to bathe?" he asked softly. Sasuke's jaw worked before he asked angrily:

"Why? This house has a large bath."

Itachi swallowed the morsel in his mouth and responded:

"It is moldy and wet. I keep slipping and falling when I go in there." He admitted. After a pause, he added "I don't think that I can clean it on my own."

Sasuke stared at him in surprise. This was the first time in their lives when Itachi admitted out loud that he couldn't do something. It filled him both with gleeful satisfaction and disappointment at the same time. It took him a little while to make a decision:

"Alright. But you'll haul your own water from the well." Sasuke demanded.

"Okay."

Without another word, Sasuke took the cream and the rest of the bandages and left.

When he returned, he went to the bath in what had now become his house and took a look inside. The toilet had been cleaned, but the bathtub was as moldy as Itachi's probably was. So far, Sasuke had cleaned himself in the yard, using the water from the well and hadn't bothered to clean the bath completely, simply because he had been busy with other things. Now though, he would have to do it, simply because he wanted to show Itachi that unlike him, he could take care of himself. The fact that he simply wanted to help his brother was firmly ignored.

After he dumped his shirt in the living room, he turned and began hauling water in a bucket from the well, using it to clean and scrub the tiles in the bathroom of all the dirt and mold, slowly working his way to the bathtub. When the sun set completely and the natural light faded, he lit some of the candles he found in the house and continued working well into the night. It was past 2 am when he was finally finished, he was sweaty and dirty and exhausted, but the entire bath was shiny and squeaky clean. With a pleased sigh, he went back to the yard and dumped several more of the buckets of cold water over his head, then went to sleep.

He overslept a little in the morning and the sun was almost in its zenith when he finally went to his parents' house, finding Itachi fiddling clumsily with one of his sandals – one of the straps was torn and he was trying to fix that, albeit without much success.

His brother ate the food he brought him without saying a word other than thanking him. When he was done, Sasuke said:

"You can come to bathe now."

Itachi nodded and put his sandals on once they stepped on the path. Once they left the yard, the elder Uchiha paused and stayed where he was. It took Sasuke a few moments to figure out why, but when he did he grabbed his elbow with a sigh and pulled him forward.

"Come on. I won't let you fall, considering that I'd have to patch you up afterwards." He grumbled. Itachi actually smiled a little at that, even if he said nothing.

Together they reached Sasuke's house and the younger man led him inside and then into the surprisingly spacious bathroom, then let go of his arm.

"The bathtub is on your right." He explained. Itachi turned to him.

"Thank you, brother." He said quietly. Sasuke bristled.

"Don't call me that. I don't like it."

The other flinched minutely at that sharp rebuke and turned away.

"I apologize. It won't happen again."

Silently, he began undressing and folding his clothes, then put them on a chair that Sasuke had provided for that. Sasuke noticed how much weight he had lost. Itachi had always been of slender build, but now he looked as fragile as a bird.

"Wasn't I supposed to carry the water?" he asked.

"…I did it already. Didn't want you to fall on your face somewhere inside the house and splash everything with water. I just cleaned the place." He grumbled, but the explanation sounded empty to his own ears.

"Thank you."

"Would you stop repeating that?!" the younger man asked with annoyance. "Get it through your thick scull – nothing I do is for your sake!"

"I'm sorry."

"You're incorrigible!" Sasuke fumed and turned away to leave.

Muttering under his breath he went outside only to discover Kakashi sitting on the porch, another scroll in his hands.

"I figured that you wouldn't have much food left by now." The Jounin said without a greeting. "So I brought you some more. Along with some toiletries for the both of you." He eyed the dark shadow on Sasuke's chin. "You are almost 19 years old now. I take it you shave?"

Sasuke rubbed the soft fuzz and nodded. He had never grown a proper beard – few of the Uchihas ever did – but a few years ago the tiny, silken hairs had began to grow, albeit slowly. Considering the way Itachi looked at the moment, he could say that he was the same.

He reached and took the scroll from Kakashi.

"Thank you."

Kakashi nodded.

"It's nothing."

He didn't leave. Sasuke sent him a questioning look.

"Is there something else?"

"Your brother is in the house." Kakashi pointed out.

"He's taking a bath." Sasuke explained defensively.

"Oh?"

"Well, I wasn't about to go and clean HIS bath as well, was I?"

Kakashi said nothing, but Sasuke could tell that he was smiling under his mask. And his eye twinkled merrily.

"What?" Sasuke asked challenging him to make a comment.

"Oh, nothing. Everything's fine."

Sasuke though, had no intention to fall on his back.

"So tell me, Sensei. What they say about you and Naruto, is it true?"

Kakashi actually did look flustered for a moment.

"And what do they say about us, Sasuke?"

It was Sasuke's turn to smile.

"I lived in Ame for the past several months, and rumours sometimes leak in even there. This one was too big not to notice. Namely, that you are his lover."

"Ah, that rumour. Sasuke, I am Naruto's closest advisor, as you probably know. I spend a lot of time with him. But…" he put his hands in his pockets "…our personal relations aren't really any of your business, are they?" he said lightly.

"Sure. Just as much as my relations with my brother aren't any of yours, are they?" Sasuke said in the same light tone.

"Touché." Kakashi said and turned to leave. "I'll write to Nagato that the two of you are quite fine. He sent a letter asking about your condition a few days ago." And he was gone before Sasuke could respond.

The young man rolled his eyes at his former Sensei's tactics and opened the scroll. It turned out that Kakashi had brought him more food this time, and more varied, along with a pair of toothbrushes, paste, combs, soap and all other sorts of things to make their lives easier.

Sighing, he sealed most of the food back in, put the toiletries in a small bag and went back inside, leaving everything on the table in the living room, then headed for the bathroom.

It turned out that Itachi was finished bathing and Sasuke found him while he was drying his thin body with the towel he had provided him. When he was done, he reached for his clothes on the chair.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Getting dressed, Sasuke." Was the quiet answer, although the younger Uchiha could hear an "obviously" at the end of the sentence.

"Those are filthy."

"I don't have anything else."

"Why didn't you take any when we left Ame?"

"I thought I wouldn't live long enough to need more changes of clothing."

Sasuke bit his lip, turned around and left for a moment, then appeared again, carrying folded pants, shirt and underwear.

"Here." He thrust them in Itachi's arms. "Put these on."

"But they are yours…"

"Just put them on!"

Unwilling to argue further, Itachi began to get dressed. Sasuke watched him, and when he was done, he directed him to sit on the chair where his old clothes were.

"I need to shave you." He said. "You look ridiculous like that."

Itachi remained silent and unresisting while Sasuke spread the shaving cream on his cheeks, nor did he even tense while his brother ran the blade of the razor over his smooth skin. He just sat there, quiet and strangely docile, allowing Sasuke to shave him, his younger brother's warm breath puffing against his neck and raising goosebumps. Sasuke said nothing too, focused on the task at hand, his front pressed against Itachi's back, body warmth shared between them.

The elder Uchiha had lost a lot of weight while Sasuke had filled out and the shirt he wore, Sasuke's shirt, was too wide for him. Sasuke didn't even notice when wide collar had slipped and had revealed a thin, pale shoulder. The sight of it made him pause. There was something about this picture, of the brother whom he had pursued for years, whim he had hated and reviled for so long, with whom he had been obsessed to the point of sacrificing everyone and everything in his life just to get to him, sitting there, dressed in Sasuke's own clothes, silent, submissive, needing Sasuke to take care of him…

A shudder passed through Sasuke's body and he closed his eyes, willing the strange feeling away, not wishing to analyze the mixture of anger, intense possessiveness and that annoying protective feeling that filled him when he looked at his brother life that.

He reached and pulled the collar up, the tips of his fingers sliding over Itachi's moist skin as he put the shirt back in order. An answering shudder went through Itachi when Sasuke did that, and they both felt it. When the younger one spoke again, his voice was hoarse:

"There. You're done. You can go back now."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all who commented and favourited this story. Your feedback and support means a lot to me.

**CHAPTER 4**

Sasuke was lying flat on his back on the porch, barefoot and shirtless, and idly wished for the weather to turn cool again. For the past week a heatwave so intense that even the most hardened of Jounin tried to stay indoors during the day had hit Konoha. Or at least Kakashi told him so, when he last appeared with more food and clothes for Itachi. It was the first time when Sasuke had seen the older man dressed in anything other than his flack uniform jacket and his long sleeved shirt. The mask was still present, but now it was tucked into a simple t-shirt, which in turn was tucked in a pair of pants that went to the middle of his calves. On any other man that would've looked a bit silly, but Kakashi just looked casual and laid-back. Sasuke couldn't help but admire that – his ability to make himself comfortable in any situation and environment, much like a cat would, for all his love for dogs.

When Kakashi left though, the younger Uchiha unsealed all the goodies he had left him and stored the food away – electricity had been restored, at least for the house he inhabited, so the fridge worked - then took a look at the clothes Kakashi had left for Itachi – some shirts, underwear, pants, even several ribbons for his hair.

He stood there indecisively for a few minutes, the clothes in his arms, staring at them. They were brand new, the labels still stuck to them. He thought about Itachi being dressed in them, replacing the too-large clothes Sasuke had given him. That mental image didn't sit well with Sasuke – he liked his brother dressed just as he was now.

With a determined huff, he walked into the now much cleaner backyard and burned them. The only thing he left were the sandals, simply because he didn't have a second pair to replace Itachi's scuffed ones. He brought them to him later that day, along with a few more of his shirts and pants. Itachi appeared genuinely grateful and changed into the new clothes, much to Sasuke's delight.

Of course, the younger man knew that there was something strange about wanting to see his brother wear his clothes, he understood that very well, but he firmly ignored the inner voice that kept telling him that. He completely forgot about it when Itachi sat down and began to comb his hair, which by now had grown down to the small of his back. As Itachi worked the knots out, it became smooth and shiny, falling in gentle raven waves down his back.

Without thinking, Sasuke walked up to him and took the comb from his hands, then began to comb his hair himself with the murmured explanation that he could do it better. Itachi let him without a word of protest and eventually leaned into his touch.

The rhythmic movement of the comb through the soft, lustrous tresses soothed them both and soon Itachi was leaning against Sasuke's hip, the younger man's hand cupping his cheek as his other hand moved the comb through his hair. By now, all the knots were untangled and there was no need for him to continue, but he found himself to be unable to stop, almost hypnotized by what he was doing, the combing having long turned into petting. It didn't help that the skin under his palm was just as smooth, lily-white and as delicate as the petals of a flower. Itachi's unseeing eyes were closed and there was an expression of bliss on his face as Sasuke groomed him gently.

What shocked Sasuke back into reality were the first stirrings of familiar heat low in his belly. The comb slowed to a stop as he stared down at the top of Itachi's head in surprise. His brother also stirred.

"Sasuke…?" his voice was small and uncertain, as if he too had experienced the same thing.

The younger Uchiha pulled away so sharply that Itachi nearly fell over.

"I need to go." Sasuke said and quickly turned on his heel, practically fleeing his parents' house.

And here he was now, lying on his porch, staring at the cloudless blue sky and contemplating what the hell was wrong with him. He had never been a posterboy of normality, but getting turned on by grooming his own brother was taking it a bit far, even for him. Was it because he was cut off from any other people but Itachi, and his libido demanded that he satisfy its needs with the only person available? Well, that wasn't entirely true – he communicated with Kakashi on a regular basis, and he didn't want to drag him to his bed, even if he admitted that the Jounin was more than attractive.

The truth was, Sasuke liked being in control. That much he knew – after a lifetime of being manipulated by all sorts of people, most of them being his family members, he demanded complete control over his sexual partners. Suigetsu had been willing to indulge his needs as long as Sasuke satisfied him in turn, but the Uchiha was pretty sure that Kakashi wouldn't be so inclined. Perhaps that was the reason why he hadn't considered him as an option, not even subconsciously. Itachi, on the other hand, had been dependable on him ever since they arrived in Konoha, and Sasuke had made sure to make him even more dependable – for food, clothing, even basic hygiene. After a lifetime spent chasing after him, now that he finally had him, and in that state, had his obsession with him sublimated into something… different? Deeper, darker?

With a groan, Sasuke covered his face with his hands. Why did he always manage to work himself into a corner like this? Why couldn't he, once and for all, be free from Itachi?

His frustrated self-pity was interrupted by the distinct sensation of several unfamiliar chakra signatures moving fast through the Uchiha compound. He was immediately on his feet, pulling out a Kunai and preparing to face whoever decided to pay him an unwanted visit, calm washing over him with practiced ease. He might be confined to this place, but he was far from helpless.

Much to his surprise, however, the chakra signatures just paused when they became parallel with his house, then continued down the street to Itachi's place and stopped there. Curious, Sasuke quickly moved in their direction, fast and silent, easily falling back into his old training. When he neared their parents' home he could sense the intruders' chakra signatures even better – four of them, their vicious intent washing over him like foul sea water.

Sasuke silently jumped on the roof and peered down over the edge. The sight that greeted him filled him with rage. Indeed, they were four – three Chuunin and a Genin who was too old to still be a Genin. Two of them holding his brother while the third spoke, while the Genin just standing there and watching the whole thing with a nasty little smile on his face:

"You thought you could get away with it, didn't you, you freak!" the Chuunin hissed "A murderer and a traitor, admitted back in Konoha as if he owned it!"

Itachi, much to Sasuke's satisfaction didn't cower or flinch – in fact, he appeared perfectly calm, even a little dismissive:

"I've done more for Konoha than you'll ever hope to achieve, boy." Itachi said, something of the old cold arrogance seeping in his cultured voice. His full lips twisted into a thin, mocking smile "while you four attack like a pack of hyenas the target you thought would be too weak to defend himself. Such bravery."

The ring-leader swung and punched Itachi, hard.

"Shut up, traitor! Don't talk back to your superiors!"

"The only thing you are superior to is a garden slug." Itachi mocked. The man swung to hit him again, but by that time Sasuke was almost incoherent with fury. They were touching, harming, hurting what was his. Itachi was his brother, he belonged to him, Sasuke was the only one who had the right to hit him or mete any sort of vengeance or justice, however he saw fit. And these four, they were encroaching on his territory. They were going to pay.

The moment he moved forward, jumping over the edge, Itachi landed a swift, painful kick in the man's groin. The Chuunin let out an unmanly squeal and bent over. Sasuke landed on one of the men holding onto Itachi's hand and felt the blade of the Kunai pierce his body just below his clavicle. Blood sprayed against his fingers and face and he pulled out the weapon harshly. The man went down like a log. By that time the other Chuunin had managed to shake off the effects of Itachi's kick – which meant that he wasn't a complete wuss – and glowered at Sasuke, his small beady quickly taking in the situation. The Genin behind him looked terrified and ready to bolt, the one whom Sasuke had stabbed was on the ground, choking on his own blood and Itachi kept hitting the other Chuunin with surprising precision.

Sasuke could see the gears in his head turning, his fight of flight instinct taking over his rational thinking.

"Turns out neither of us is helpless." Sasuke said and was about to throw his Kunai in the Chuunin's throat when the man Itachi was struggling with finally managed to shake him off and punch him in the stomach, hard. His brother hissed and swayed, losing whatever momentum he had gained and for a split second Sasuke's attention was drawn to him, giving the ring-leader enough time to jump on him, clutching a blade in his hand.

The best he would've achieved, probably, would've been to scratch him and that would've infuriated Sasuke even further, but he never got the chance to get anywhere near the younger Uchiha, because Kakashi, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere, had his wrist in a crushing grip. The Chuunin whimpered and let go of the knife, but Kakashi's fingers kept pressing until he was on his knees and howling in pain. Sasuke could hear the audible crunching of the bones in his hand.

The final Chuunin, who was still standing, watched the display with morbid fascination, frozen in his spot, unable to utter a sound – an enraged Copy Nin was a sight to behold.

"A pack of hyenas, indeed." Kakashi said lazily.

"My arm… my arm…" the Chuunin cried and tried to pry Kakashi's fingers off his wrist but the Jounin just shook him, which produced even more moaning, and said:

"Quiet down there." He turned to Sasuke. "It's a good thing that your seals also detect flares in your chakra." he told him, his single visible eye still cold with anger. "I suggest that you stop with this farce of living apart and move your brother in with you, to avoid further such incidents."

Sasuke nodded.

"I could've taken them." He muttered.

"But Itachi couldn't. Not in this state." He looked at the Chuunin that still standing and pointed to the wounded man "You. Get your buddy here and follow me." He then looked at the terrified Genin "As for you, I will make sure that your Sensei punishes you so harshly that in the next several years you don't think of anything but training."

And with that, he dragged the whimpering man out of the house, followed by the rest who trailed behind him.

Silence. Sasuke sat down on the ground and began to clean the blood off his Kunai on a piece of clothing torn from Itachi's shirt during the struggle. His brother stood behind him quietly for a few more moments, then asked:

"Why did you come?"

"Why shouldn't I have?" Sasuke muttered.

"I thought that you wouldn't care to. Or that you'd…"

"Want them to follow up on what they had begun?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes."

Sasuke paused in his cleaning, then said:

"Whatever you have done, Itachi, you did it to me. Not to them, not to Konoha, not to the Hokages. You killed MY family, your tortured ME, you manipulated ME. If someone can hit you, that would be ME. Not some third-rate Chuunin loser who decided to boost up his ego by beating up a blind man. No one but me has the right to touch you, Itachi." He finished, his voice roughening in the end. The possessiveness he felt earlier now only intensified further.

"I understand."

"Good. Because Kakashi is right. You are moving in with me."

"Okay." Itachi said softly. The complete lack of protest and obvious Sasuke harden in his pants for real this time, but he couldn't care less. Itachi was his, and no one else would be allowed to stake a claim on him.

"We should've expected something like this." Kakashi said calmly as he watched Naruto pace furiously up and down his office. "Do sit down, Hokage-sama, you'll wear the floor like this."

Naruto stopped abruptly and turned to glare at Kakashi:

"I had given express order that they were not to be touched. That they are under MY protection. And then some lowly Chuunin goes and does this?!" he yelled, his explosive temper shattering his cool. "Do I have this little control over my own subordinates, Kakashi?" he exclaimed. "This little authority?"

"Hokage-sama, there are fools in every village, people who think that rules don't apply to them. If there weren't, we'd live in a Utopia, rather than the real world." Kakashi told him mildly "You have more support than any other Hokage, except perhaps the First. Not even your father came close to that." He pointed out.

Naruto's fingers twitched, but he didn't ball his fists.

"I want them punished to the fullest extent of the law – for assault and direct insubordination. And I want them stripped of their rank!"

Kakashi nodded, but his eye darkened.

"You do know that the punishment for insubordination is public lashing, yes?" he still remembered his father enduring that, naked to the waist, his wrists tied above his head. He hadn't uttered a sound during the whole ordeal, but Kakashi could tell that the pain that the jeers of the onlookers caused was far greater than the pain the heavy bullwhip inflicted.

Naruto paused and stared at him, his jaw working.

"Public whipping?"

Kakashi nodded. The Hokage took a step back and sat down on the edge of his desk.

"20 lashes." Kakashi added.

Naruto was looking at his feet.

"When I took control of Konoha, I promised myself that I'd be a different Hokage. That I will change the system." He swallowed. "But I cannot go around changing laws left and right without any consideration. I'll amass too many enemies like that."

"I know, Hokage-sama."

"Stop with the Hokage-sama when we're in private already, Kakashi, will you?" Naruto snapped, but Kakashi's lips quirked in a small smile.

"As my Hokage wishes."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You're terrible." He rubbed his face. "Alright. Offer them a choice – the lashes, or cleaning the Jail latrines for the next 6 months. Then do whatever they choose."

"You have a vicious sense of humour, you know that?" Kakashi said with amusement.

"Kyuubi must've rubbed off on me." Naruto grinned back.

"Oh, no. That's all your daddy. He was the same. Drove the Council members so crazy that they began talking to themselves. In their sleep."

Kakashi got up from the chair and walked up to the younger man, pulling his mask down, revealing a handsome, chiseled face, soft lips and a straight nose. Naruto smiled and reached to caress his cheek, his fingers pressing against the full lips.

"Can you guess what your Hokage wants now?" he murmured.

Kakashi let out a satisfied purr when Naruto's fingers slid into his pale hair, massaging his nape.

"I can imagine." He murmured and leaned to lick the line of his jaw, enjoying the shudder it produced. "And I have a very active imagination."

Naruto grinned against his lips.

"I know."

He didn't manage to say anything else because Kakashi captured his mouth in a hungry, demanding kiss, his tongue forcing his way through Naruto's lips and dueling with his. The blonde whimpered softly in the back of his throat like a hungry pup and wrapped his legs around Kakashi's slim hips, pressing their growing erections together. He reached and pulled Kakashi's shirt out of his pants, sliding his hands underneath the light material, tracing firm, chiseled muscles and the numerous scars all over his back. The older man had never been buff, but every part of him was built to perfection and he loved tracing the lines of his muscles. The older man laughed with delight into the kiss and tugged the white Hokage robe off Naruto's shoulders, spreading it on the paperwork stacked on the desk, then pressed his lover to lie back onto it. Naruto did so without protest and relaxed as he watched Kakashi standing above him, looking hungrily down at him, his lone dark eye glittering with desire.

Kakashi grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled, taking the garment off and revealing his sculpted chest. Naruto grinned and ran his fingers up and down his flat stomach, tickling the rippling muscles, then pulled away to remove his own shirt, revealing his equally impressive physique.

His lover gave him a playful grin and leaned to lick a reddened nipple, feeling it harden under his lips and tongue, his callused hand cupping Naruto through his pants and massaging him gently. The Hokage hissed with arousal and his hips jerked hungrily into the teasing touch.

"You keep teasing and when we go home, I'll fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk till the end of the week." He threatened breathlessly. Kakashi looked up, his chin resting on Naruto's chest:

"Is that a promise?" he asked, then turned his attention to the other nipple, his tongue circling it wetly and biting it gently when he felt Naruto's hand in his hair, gripping harshly and pulling him up for another kiss.

"Fuck me, Kakashi." Naruto demanded, his hips raising off the surface of the desk and pressing hard against Kakashi's, rocking wantonly against his arousal. "Give it to me."

Naruto, Kakashi had discovered early in their relationship, had a filthy mouth during sex.

"Put your cock in my hole. I've been thinking about it and twitching all day. Please." The last sounded more like a demand rather than a plea and he obeyed, as he always did when his Hokage ordered him to do something. He pulled back and slid down the zipper of his fly, taking his engorged organ out and rubbing it a few times, precome beading on the ruddy head. Naruto's blue eyes fixed on that and he licked his lips hungrily, his little pink tongue wetting them as he imagined licking that off.

Kakashi noticed and a choked moan escaped his throat as he tightened his thumb and middle finger around the base of his erection to stall his orgasm.

"You're driving me crazy." He accused, voice hoarse with arousal, then reached for Naruto's pants and roughly tugged them off his lean legs, dumping them on the ground. He grabbed him under the knees and lifted, pulling Naruto's legs up to his shoulders, thighs spread wide and exposing him completely to his hungry gaze. Indeed, the little rosy hole twitched greedily under his intense gaze.

"Come on." Naruto urged him again. "Need you."

Kakashi nodded and spat on his hand, then spread the meager lubrication over his engorged cock and lined it with the little hole, the beads of precome smearing against the puckered muscle.

"Are you ready?" Kakashi asked, urgency clear in his voice.

"Yes. Oh, yes."

He pushed in, watching the little hole spread with practiced ease around his girth – the two of them had been doing this long enough to need very little preparation – and moaned when Naruto's channel gripped his length wantonly, like a wet, heated glove. The blonde hissed and flung his head back, chest heaving as he struggled to relax around the invading organ.

"So good…" he whimpered.

"Yes." Kakashi breathed and paused, having slid all the way in, his balls pressed against Naruto's ass. Slowly, he withdrew almost completely, then slammed back in forcefully, rocking his lover's entire body and the desk under him. Naruto wailed.

"YES!"

Kakashi growled deep in his throat, raw and animalistic, then thrust again, and again, soon establishing a punishing rhythm, sweat beading on his forehead as he leaned forward to capture that soft, moaning mouth. Strong hands wrapped themselves around his powerful shoulders and clawed at his skin as he took Naruto, again and again, feeling him shudder and raise his hips eagerly to meet his thrusts.

"Yes, yes, so good, I love your cock, oh yes.... More, Kakashi, harder, faster… OH! OOOOH!"

Naruto was vocal in every aspect of his life – sex was no different, and Kakashi loved listening to him moan and talk while he fucked him, as much as he loved it when Naruto spoke to him while he took him.

Soon they were both wet from sweat, their heated, flushed bodies sliding together hungrily, straining to reach the peak and then finally toppling over it together, shuddering and spasming against each other, sharing a wet, messy kiss, drinking in each other's cries of pleasure.

Afterwards, they tried to clean up as much as the conditions in the office allowed and then got dressed in their rumpled clothes.

Kakashi seemed relaxed and sated and Naruto thought that after a few more bouts of lovemaking tonight, he would be too tired to become irate when he showed him Nagato's letter stating that he'd be visiting personally Konoha soon.

For all their improved relations, this man had still caused untold material damage, had killed Jiraiya-sensei and almost killed Kakashi. The older Jounin disliked and distrusted him, and Naruto's only hope was to get him on his side before the information for Nagato's visit reached the ears of the Clan Leaders and the Council.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

The first week of their cohabiting together was awkward. He showed his brother around the house, let him remember the situation of the rooms and the furniture and then tried to leave him to his own devices, as much as possible.

The truth was, Sasuke didn't know how to behave around Itachi – although his anger hadn't dissipated, he knew that he couldn't be hostile all the time. He was a Ninja and he had long learned to conserve his energy, and being constantly angry and confrontational was a huge waste of energy. Besides, even if he wanted to, he couldn't maintain that anger. Not after the first time Itachi tripped over a chair that Sasuke had moved and forgotten about it, and then fell over gracelessly on the floor. After a short hesitation he had gone to him and helped him up, only to notice that in addition to the various bruises Itachi was beginning to sport – being as pale as the siblings were, they always bruised easily - he had twisted his ankle. It wasn't broken or even hurt seriously, but it was painful and for a moment Itachi looked completely vulnerable and helpless, a shadow of apprehension, fear even, crossing over his beautiful features. Hurt in such a way he became even less mobile, Sasuke understood that. It took him a little while to make that decision, but eventually he turned around and told him to wrap his arms around his shoulders and grabbed his knees and pulled Itachi up, in a scene freakishly reminiscent of a warm summer afternoon so many years ago when his older brother had carried him home.

Only neither of them were children anymore. Sasuke had grown a little taller than Itachi and the latter was no longer the powerful, loving older brother he hero-worshipped as a child. Sometimes it appeared that he was but a shadow of his former self, and sometimes something of his old personality shined through, if only for a short while. And that reminded him of the other reason why he felt so awkward around Itachi. That damn feeling, that heat pooling low in his belly whenever Itachi depended on him, when he took care of him, it appeared again and again, became stronger, needier as the days progressed. He had thought that he could control it, that it might go away on its own, this was his own brother after all. And yet, he grew so hard when he combed Itachi's hair after a bath, when he carried him to his futon after he hurt his foot, when he watched him wear his clothes and eat the food he had prepared for the both of them. It was unexplainable but it was there, that arousal, that need, to own him, to possess him, to touch him. And it terrified him. Controlling himself became difficult, and he spent every waking hour worrying about what would happen if he eventually lost it. If he gave in to his desires. In moments like these he wondered if Itachi knew, or at least suspected how torn he felt, and if he noticed when Sasuke's touches lingered for much longer than they were supposed to. He never dared to touch him intimately, no matter how much he wanted to, but even those stolen touches – when he helped him bathe, when he combed his long hair, when he shaved him – they were tantalizing. Itachi was tempting him, all the time, with his fair skin, long, silken hair and smooth voice, and most of all with the way he utterly submitted to his wishes.

Itachi sat quietly on his pillow next to the table and munched on a piece of tempura that Sasuke had prepared earlier that evening for dinner. He could hear his younger brother putter around in the kitchen as he prepared the little sushi rolls, the tuna fish in them courtesy of a very generous Jounin.

He could no longer see Sasuke, but even so he could hear the grace in his movements. Even when he was doing the simplest menial work, he did so with grace and elegance, the sounds he made almost melodic in their quality. He loved listening to him.

He heard soft, barely audible footsteps of bare feet and then the clink of a plate set before him.

"Here. The soy sauce is at your right. I didn't add any wasabi. I know you dislike hot foods." Sasuke murmured and moved to the other side of the table, gracefully sitting down – Itachi could tell by the way his clothes rustled.

"Thank you." He answered. Sasuke said nothing.

His brother rarely responded to him when he spoke to him, even if he seemed to take the utmost care of his needs. He helped him wash, comb his hair, get dressed, fed him, took care of him when he was hurt. And those actions belied his harsh words and angry tone. Occasionally Itachi thought to ask Sasuke about this discrepancy out loud and then changed his mind, knowing that it'd only cause friction between them, and he didn't want that.

He wasn't stupid though. He knew why Sasuke took such extensive care of him, why he insisted on doing things that Itachi could do on his own. He was blind, but he was far from helpless. The fact that he wore Sasuke's clothes gave him was the first clue, especially after he found the burnt remains of clothes in the garden at the back – a few zippers, pieces of charred fabric and a few metal buttons. He knew that Kakashi must've brought garments at some point, and while Sasuke had given him the sandals, which he truly needed, he had burned the clothes that were meant for him.

Even with his eyes gone, Itachi could knew possessiveness when he saw one. Sasuke liked controlling him, he liked controlling what he wore, what he ate, the way he looked. Kisame had been similar, even if that had happened only occasionally and after Itachi's express permission and request, even. His heart clenched at the memory of his partner, who had also been a dear friend and a loyal lover. Kisame had been the only person Itachi had ever been in love with. He had taken care of him when anyone in his place would have abandoned him in the state he was – blinded, barely clinging to life. From a Ninja's point of view, especially a Ninja coming from Kirigakure, Itachi was used goods and should've been discarded. And yet, Kisame had stayed for days on end in the hospital wing and had taken care of his injuries, working hard not only to heal his body but to also heal his spirit, so terribly broken after his plan for Sasuke to kill him had failed. Kisame changed the dressings of his wounds, fed him, washed him, became his nurse and focused his entire attention on him. He had done so defying his Village's beliefs and policies, defying everything he had been taught and probably practiced all his life. And he had done it all for Itachi. His loss was one of the many things Itachi would never forgive Madara.

And here Sasuke was doing the same, looking after him and controlling him at the same time, although Itachi had neither asked for it, nor had he given him any permission. And then there were the touches, soft but lingering for too long than it would've been appropriate between brothers. There was hunger in those touches, the same kind of hunger that Kisame's touch had possessed. It terrified Itachi. It terrified him because he realized that he didn't mind the touches, and the more Sasuke did that, the more he liked it. He knew, on some level, that he should feel sickened by them, but all they made him feel was warmth. For all his feelings for Kisame, it was undeniable that Sasuke had always been the most important person in his life, the one he had sacrificed everything for, the one he lived for, breathed for, existed for, and the one he was prepared to die for. And this proof of Sasuke's wish to own him, despite everything he had done, all the sins he had committed, it was elating and terrifying and liberating at the same time.

"I've prepared us the bath." Sasuke noted quietly from somewhere to his right, his deep voice caressing Itachi's hearing.

"Us?" Itachi intoned softly after he swallowed the morsel in his mouth. While Sasuke had helped him bathe, he had never shared the bathtub with him until this moment.

"Yes." Sasuke said simply.

Itachi tried hard to hide his smile from Sasuke – his little brother was getting bolder and bolder with each passing day.

An hour later he was sitting in the large wooden ofuro, both of them already well-washed under the shower in the corner and now ready to soak in the warm water. He could hear and feel the water splashing as Sasuke slid next to him in the tub and sat down, their bodies almost touching but not quite. A large, warm hand gently caressed his shoulder, then slid up and began to massage the back of his neck. Although the water they were immersed in was hot, he could feel the heat radiating from Sasuke, his sweet, warmth breath puffing gently against his ear – he must be turned to him, watching him react to his touch.

"Sasuke." He began softly. "I'm not going to ask you what you are doing. That much has been obvious for the past weeks."

The hand on the back of his neck stilled, but was not removed. Itachi continued.

"I have one thing to ask you though."

"What?" Sasuke responded, voice just as quiet as Itachi, but with a nervous tremor in it.

"If I say "no", will you force me?"

There was a long, tense silence.

"Sasuke?" Itachi pressed.

"No. I won't." Sasuke's voice was hoarse and strained. "I cannot hurt you like that."

"But you want to?"

Another lengthly pause.

"Yes." It was barely audible.

"Yes, what, little brother? Hurt me, or force me?"

"I don't understand…"

"There is a difference, Sasuke. You could force me, and hurt me, or you could hurt me without forcing me. I could let you."

"For how long have you known?" Sasuke asked.

"A while now." Itachi admitted.

"I am obvious, aren't I?"

"No, Sasuke. It's just that I know you better than anyone else. I created you."

The fingers at the back of his neck trembled.

"I have never been able to let go of you, Itachi." Sasuke murmured softly. "No matter how hard I tried, how much I sacrificed, I could never let go of you. Or you of me."

"I know."

"I am tired of running."

"Then…" Itachi swallowed and said "you can have me, if you want me. All of me."

He was about to say something more, but soft, demanding lips covered his own in a forceful kiss. Chucking all his fears and doubts to the wind, Itachi opened his mouth readily, letting Sasuke in, allowing him to conquer and explore, mewling softly when their tongues slid wetly against each other. Sasuke's mouth tasted of the oranges he had ate earlier for dessert and his breath smelled of them too, a fresh and yet heady scent. It was intoxicating and Itachi pressed closer, wanting more of it. Sasuke's warm, wet hands slid down his back and under his hips, cradling him and then lifting him effortlessly, pulling him to sit in his lap. Their kiss grew even harsher and Itachi clung to his younger brother's broad shoulders as he felt those same hands sliding into his lap and gently wrapping fingers around his awakening arousal and fondling his sack.

Sasuke withdrew from the kiss to take a breath and then buried his mouth behind his ear, tracing the soft, damp skin there with the tip of his tongue, eliciting a needy groan from Itachi.

"Sasuke…" he moaned.

There was a dark chuckle and then suddenly Sasuke grabbed his hips again and clutched him as he stood up, Itachi still in his arms, the water running in rivulets down their heated bodies. Instinctively, Itachi wrapped his legs around his hips, their arousals rubbing together, slick with water and their own juices.

Sasuke precariously stepped out of the bathtub, and carried Itachi out of the bathroom, both of them still sopping wet and dripping on the polished wooden floor. Soon they reached the bedroom and Sasuke entered, finally depositing Itachi on the futon, as naked and wet as he was. Panting softly, he leaned back for a moment to enjoy the view.

Itachi's slim, slender body was sprawled on top of the dark covers, graceful limbs splayed invitingly and yet demurely, flushed, pretty face turned to one side in surprising shyness. His long, raven hair spread like a halo around him, the dark, luxurious tresses beginning to tangle. Slowly, he kneeled between the splayed legs and gently slid his hands over Itachi's inner thighs, then pushed them apart. His brother offered no resistance, although he blushed when he became so exposed to Sasuke's hungry gaze.

"You will really let me do whatever I want?" Sasuke asked, voice deepened with arousal and another unidentified emotion.

Itachi slowly nodded.

"Yes. You said it, brother. We belong to each other."

Sasuke's answer wasn't verbal, it was an answer nonetheless. A hot, wet tongue slid down the tense muscle of Itachi's inner thigh, making the older Uchiha moan softly, paused and played with the soft flesh where thigh med his torso, then slid further down and tenderly licked at his throbbing balls and took one in his mouth, suckling for all he was worth and rolling it with his tongue at the same time. Itachi's naked body arched off the sheets as he cried out at the sudden onslaught, one hand boldly coming down to tangle itself in Sasuke's soft, wet hair.

"Sasuke…" he moaned again when the tongue traveled further to stab at his perineum, stimulating his prostate gland from the outside, the soft, tender flesh tingling from the attention. One of the callused hands cradling his slim hips let go of him just to wrap around his arousal, rubbing it with slow, sure strokes as Sasuke's tongue slipped tantalizingly close to his twitching entrance. Itachi could feel the saliva dripping down his flesh and against his needy little hole, his thighs trembled with arousal as he hardened even further in Sasuke's hand.

A thumb caressed his saliva-slickened entrance and Sasuke softly asked.

"Do you want me to kiss you here, brother?" his voice was soft and yet surprisingly deep.

Itachi nodded.

"Please…"

The hand rubbing his entrance withdrew and came up to massage his balls and pull them up so Sasuke could see better.

"Please, what?"

"Please, Sasuke. Please… brother."

He heard Sasuke suck in his breath at his breathless plea and then he felt his tongue press flatly against his entrance, then circling it and stabbing at it with the agile tip. He wailed and pulled his knees up to his chest, spreading his thighs as much as he could. He loved that being done to him – Kisame had been terribly good at it and it seemed that Sasuke was just as good, lathing the little hole with attention.

A slick finger penetrated him gently and began to slide in and out of his, stretching him slowly. Itachi exhaled and whimpered, then asked:

"I thought…"

"Mmm?"

He wet his lips and whimpered again, because the finger reached his spot, rubbing mercilessly against the sensitive little nub.

"I thought you wanted to hurt me…"

The finger didn't still.

"What do YOU want, Itachi?" Sasuke asked, his voice a curious mixture of dominance and vulnerability.

"I…" Itachi began but bit his lips and turned his head away. Another finger penetrated him and pressed against his prostate insistently.

"Tell me." Sasuke implored.

"I thought that this is about what you want." Itachi whispered softly as his hips began to move helplessly against the invading fingers.

"It is." Sasuke murmured, adding a third finger. "I am doing what I want at the moment, Itachi."

"Indulging me?"

"Mhm."

Itachi reached wrapped his own fingers around Sasuke's heated length, feeling it so silken and heavy in his palm as he rubbed it gently.

"Take me, Sasuke."

"Say please." Sasuke muttered but thrust kept thrusting into him with his delicate fingers.

"Please, brother." Itachi said again. "I need you."

His control finally snapped at that needy plea and he grabbed Itachi's thighs, pulling them up to his shoulders all over again and kept Itachi folded nearly in two, their arousals dripping with precome. The older Uchiha's hand on Sasuke's erection carefully guided it to his entrance, rubbing the engorged head against the sensitive muscle, his bow-shaped lips spreading in a silent "O" at the sensation. Sasuke panted and then began to push forward, watching the tight ring slowly expand as Itachi's body accommodated him. When he was finally seated inside of him he paused, shuddering at the delicious sensation of being gripped by that tight, heated, throbbing channel.

His gaze travelled up, past Itachi's flushed erection, his smooth, flat belly, his heaving chest, to stop on his flushed face, unseeing eyes closed, long, dark eyelashes trembling against delicate cheekbones as he moaned quietly again and again at being stretched so wide around Sasuke's organ.

"I am doing what I want, Itachi." Sasuke repeated stubbornly and began to thrust into him, at first slow and shallow, then picking up the pace, rocking into his brother for all that he was worth. Itachi's long legs wrapped around his hips again and urged him on, his hot breath puffing against his ear as he embraced him and pulled him down so they were touching and sliding against each other, Itachi's erection trapped between their flat, muscled bellies.

"And I am giving you what we both need." He whispered in Itachi's ear and he suddenly came, wetness splashing between them, the tight channel around his organ rippling and spasming as his brother climaxed under him. Sasuke shuddered and fell over the precipice, shooting his seed deep inside his lover.

They lay side by side afterwards, still slick with sweat and other fluids, flushed and panting. When he gained some measure of control, Sasuke reached and pulled his brother in his embrace, delighting in the way he curled in his arms, as if he's always belonged there. He was too sated, too pleased to think about the implications and consequences of what they had just done, nor did he wonder at Itachi's compliance.

In the darkest hour of the night, just before dawn, a man arrived in Konoha, followed by a small honour guard. The giant gates protecting the sleeping Village opened soundlessly, swinging on their well-oiled hinges to admit the visitors, the Hokage and his assistant standing there and waiting.

The small group slowly entered Konoha, their expressions wary, except for their leader's, who looked thoughtful and sad at the same time, but certainly not afraid. He left his escort standing by the gate and approached the Hokage on his own, ignoring the caustic look the masked nin threw him over the blonde man's shoulder. Once, he had almost killed that Nin, utterly defeated him in battle until he had had nothing left to give, his chakra drained to the absolute minimum. His dislike was normal and expected even, so Nagato firmly ignored him.

Naruto gazed up at the former Akatsuki's leader thoughtfully, cleared his throat and said:

"I guess that "Welcome to Konoha" would sound a little… odd, considering the circumstances. Don't you think, Nagato?"


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"_I guess that "Welcome to Konoha" would sound a little… odd, considering the circumstances. Don't you think, Nagato?"_

Nagato blinked at those words, the space between them filling with awkward silence. Finally, he looked away:

"Yes, it would probably sound odd." He agreed.

"The Hokage-sama agreed to accept your presence on Konoha soil despite the objections of the Counsil and my own. See to it that you do not disappoint him." Kakashi warned coldly.

"I have not come here to fight, Kakashi-san." The red-head said calmly. "I come in peace. Is that so hard to understand?"

Kakashi snorted derisively.

"Coming from your mouth…" he began but Naruto interrupted him.

"That is enough, Kakashi. May I remind you that despite his attack on us, in the end he returned your life, along with everyone else's out of sheer goodwill? He's a guest now, our guest, and there is no point to antagonize each other any more. The past is the past. Let us look to the future."

Kakashi glowered at Nagato, but said nothing, nodding curtly to Naruto. The blonde smiled, even if it was a little forced and stepped aside.

"Indeed, welcome to Konoha."

Nagato bowed and walked forward, falling in step with the Hokage.

"I know what you want to ask." Naruto said. "About the Uchiha brothers, yes?"

Nagato nodded.

"They're okay."

Naruto always found it odd that a man in Nagato's position – leader of a Village, and most of all, former Leader of one of the most dangerous criminal organizations ever created, didn't have enough self-control to keep emotions from showing on his face. His expression was filled with relief at the news of Itachi and Sasuke.

"Thank you." He said.

Naruto nodded. Next to them Kakashi walked quietly and listened to the conversation without interfering, but Naruto could tell that he was unhappy with this man's presence in Konoha. He would have to talk to him afterwards.

An hour later, they were sitting in Naruto's spacious office, the sleeping Konoha sprawled beyond the large windows. The horizon was slowly changing colours, gentle orange glow appearing just above the treeline. Dawn was coming.

"As we both agreed" Naruto began "It is time for us to begin official peace talks."

Nagato nodded.

"It would be best for everyone, I think." He tried to ignore looking at Kakashi's silent figure standing next to Naruto's right shoulder like some ominous sentinel.

"What is it that you can offer us?" Always blunt, Naruto went straight to the point. "As you know, I have to convince my Counsil and the ranking Jounins that negotiating with you, officially, has some merit. So you, and consequently, I, have to show that you can offer something.

Nagato thought for a moment, then quietly said:

"Technology."

"Technology?"

"Yes. As you know, Amegakure is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, Naruto. We don't have much land, and what land we have is usually sodden with rain. We have small population and very little military power. But we do have technology. I fostered that when I took control, I encouraged them to learn and research."

"What kind of technology?" asked Kakashi "Military?"

"Some. But mostly of the civilian kind – agricultural, medical, chemical, electronic… Everything that my scientists considered beneficial for the well-being of my people."

Naruto leaned forward.

"What kind of medical technology?"

"The kind that doesn't rely on medic nins' skills." Nagato pointed out.

"Oh? And why would Konoha need that? We have plenty of medic nins here." Kakashi muttered.

The red-head turned to glare at him.

"Who take care of your numerous personnel. Have you asked yourself what happens to the ordinary people, the civilians, when there aren't enough medic nins to see to their needs? Of course you haven't. People like you don't give a damn about civilians, even if they provide you with everything that makes your life easy – food, clothing… Was it Nins who rebuilt this place? This Tower, even?"

Kakashi frowned at the accusation, but said nothing. Nagato pressed on.

"And yet they get the least of all that you feel is entitled to a Ninja. People like you, they consider them little more than cattle, existing only to provide for you and be killed when they get in your way!"

"I have never seen civilians in such a way." Kakashi said, his voice menacingly quiet. "And I don't appreciate being accused of such a thing."

"Maybe not you." Nagato conceded. "But how many of your friends do just that?"

Kakashi didn't answer that. He knew it to be true.

"I am trying to change all that, Nagato." Naruto said placatingly, hoping to smooth their ruffled feathers.

"I know." The other man said solemnly. "Which is why my offering can be to your benefit."

Naruto nodded.

"I'll speak with the council today. Kakashi will escort you to your rooms now. I'll see to it that you get refreshments sent up from the kitchens. Please don't leave the rooms though."

"Am I a prisoner?"

"No. But there are far too many people here who wish nothing more but to wring your neck. I don't want any fights starting and any of my people being hurt. It's for their protection, not yours. And besides, best not to upset people needlessly right before I talk to the council."

Nagato got up and smiled gently at the Hokage.

"You have turned into a diplomat. Who would've thought…?" his smile disappeared. "You must've discovered that once you become a leader, being responsible for other people's lives isn't the dream job you imagined it would be."

Naruto shrugged.

"I try to look at it as an honour, rather than a burden."

"He's grown a lot from the boy I fought almost two years ago." Nagato said softly as he and Kakashi walked down the corridor to his rooms.

"He went through a lot." Kakashi agreed. "Starting with you."

"It was never my intention to harm him."

Kakashi unlocked a door and led the red-head in a small, cosy apartment. When the door closed behind them, he turned to look at him, single uncovered eye narrowing.

"No, harming him was just an unfortunate consequence of your intentions towards him." He pointed out. Nagato's pieced lips thinned. Suddenly the Jounin grabbed his shoulders and forcefully slammed him against the wall.

"How dare you!" Nagato growled, but made no effort to free himself.

"Oh, I dare a lot." Kakashi said calmly, his voice cold and vicious. "But it seems that you, on the other hand, don't dare to throw me off." He paused. "Or is it that you can't?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I watched you carefully the whole time you were here." Kakashi explained. "These" he gestured with his chin "are contact lenses, aren't they? You lost your Rin'negan the day you had to return the lives you took and moved permanently to this body, didn't you?"

"You presume too much." Nagato's tone was icy.

"Maybe. But then again, you're still in my grip. You haven't thrown me across the room." He paused again. "Or through the wall."

He heard the man's breathing quickening, fear slowly creeping on his face.

"I was right, after all." Kakashi concluded. "You're helpless. Stuck with whatever power your friend had, which, I assume, wasn't much. You rely on all the other Villages believing that you still have your Rin'negan, and that's what's keeping them from attacking you and your little village, razing it to the ground as they undoubtedly dream of. Simply put, you're bluffing."

All colour had drained from the pretty face and the man seemed almost ashen.

"What do you want?" he asked softly.

Kakashi's grip on his shoulders tightened, sure to leave bruises behind.

"I will be watching you." He warned. "If you ever try to double-cross Naruto, or if you, and those who serve you, harm even a single person in Konoha, or anywhere else for that matter…" he leaned and spoke directly in his pierced ear "I will make sure that everyone, all the villages that your Akatsuki attacked in the past several years learn of your… charade. And when they do…" he trailed off, allowing Nagato's imagination do the rest. The Jounin let go of him and stepped back. The red-head was still pressed against the wall, clothes rumpled, looking dazed and frightened. Slowly, he regained his composure and met Kakashi's stare head on.

"I have been honest with your Hokage." He said quietly. "I have never planned any subterfuge."

"For your people's good, I hope it to be so." Kakashi said, turned on his heel and left, the front door slamming after him. Nagato stared at it for a few moments and slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, his slim body shivering. He had got himself trapped between the hammer and the anvil, and he saw no way out.

Sasuke slowly woke up, body relaxed and languid under the thin sheet covering him. As awareness creeped in behind his eyelids, he felt another body next to his, smooth-skinned and warm, his back pressed to his side, long, silken black hair strewn across his chest and neck. Itachi.

Arousal shot through his veins and he hardened as he remembered the previous night, their feverish coupling, Itachi's needy little moans… Sasuke stifled a groan and slowly turned, his eyes focusing on a slim, pale shoulder and the elegant curve of Itachi's back. The sheet had fallen down to his hip and Sasuke admired the expanse of soft skin before reaching to trace the tips of his fingers over the delicate ridges Itachi's spine. His brother stirred softly under his gentle touch and moaned something. Sasuke smiled and carefully pulled the sheet away entirely, leaving them bare on the rumpled bed, his cock throbbing between his thighs when he took in his the sight of his brother, laid before him, still relaxed and sleepy. He leaned forward and placed a soft, wet kiss on his shoulder before burying his face in his neck, breathing in his scent, his erection nestling against the firm bottom and rubbing up and down between the round, pale globes of flesh.

"Sasuke…" Itachi moaned softly, his hand finding his hip and gripping, pressing him even closer, his leg moving up towards his chest to spread himself for him.

"Tell me what you want, Itachi." Sasuke murmured in the soft hair.

"You." Itachi's breath hitched when Sasuke took his erection in hand and rubbed the tip against his entrance. "Please."

They both groaned with pleasure as Sasuke slid in, Itachi's body still loose and prepared from the previous night, his channel slick and eager for him.

"You feel so good." Sasuke admitted out loud as he began to move slowly, wrapping his arms around then Itachi's writhing form. "So perfect for me."

"Yes. We fit so well." Itachi answered and rocked back into the slow, gentle thrusts.

"I'll never let you go." Sasuke murmured in his ear.

"Yes…"

A hand, callused from holding a sword, gripped Itachi's own awakened erection and rubbed it slowly, in time with his thrusts. They coupled gently, drawing out their pleasure, the desperation from the previous night sated, at least for the moment. They were finally together, and Sasuke wouldn't allow anyone to pull them apart again. Ever.

Touching Danzo's mind was revolting. It was like jumping head-first into a cesspool, the foul substance closing over him, invading his every pore, suffocating him, blotting out all light and joy. Nagato hated communicating with the man in this way… But then again, he hated communicating with him in every possible way. His mere presence offended him, be it physical or just mental.

"Did your first meeting go well?" the old man asked, his mental voice no less revolting than the rest of his presence.

"Yes. They are still suspicious, distrustful, but they believe I mean well." Nagato admitted, fury threatening to spill over his carefully built walls.

"See to it that they begin to trust you, Nagato. The safety of your people depends on this."

Nagato would've loved nothing more but to rip this man's mind apart, and if he couldn't get to the mind, he would've sufficed with his body. Sadly, he knew that he couldn't, not now, maybe not ever. Not with the club the bastard held over his head.

How he managed to escape Konoha after Naruto took over was still beyond him, but he had continued to elude pursuit, his survival carefully hidden from the general public so as not to harm their morale.

The nerve of him, coming to Amegakure and threatening to expose him as a powerless fraud shocked even Nagato, who had participated in quite a few daring acts himself. Danzo had little proof, but he was still the leader of Root, still widely respected among the ruling classes of the Hidden Villages – at least those of the old generation – and a rumour started by him of all people could be devastating. All it took was one vengeful fool who decided that he wasn't afraid that Nagato was still Pein to come to Ame and challenge him and then the truth would be exposed… and the rest of them would be upon his village like locusts. He couldn't allow that. He wasn't going to allow neither Kakashi nor this horrible man to threaten his people.

"I know what the stakes are!" He exclaimed and felt the man chuckling with amusement.

"For your own good, I hope that you do. Now, about the other matter…"

"I haven't seen the Uchihas yet." Nagato said flatly.

"But they spoke of them?"

"Only that they are well."

"How unfortunate. I almost hoped that they would kill each other, after I learned what that brat did with them."

"Perhaps you underestimated their bond." Nagato challenged.

"A bond of hate and blood. Indeed, that bond is strong, but also brittle at the same time. I do hope that they both survive until I get my hands on them though…"

"I thought you were interested in Konoha."

"I am human, Nagato-kun. Even I allow myself some personal… undulgement, to put it that way."

Nagato gritted his teeth.

"Is that all?"

"See to it that they begin to trust you. That they agree to the deal you're offering. The safety of all that you love depends on it."


End file.
